Coalition pledges $20m to new Gymnastics SA centre
Parents have rejoiced through tear-filled eyes at the announcement that a new 'Olympic level' gymnastics facility could be on the horizon for South Australia.
The announcement comes just days after The Advertiser revealed the dangerous shortfalls in equipment and premises for young gymnastics in SA, forcing some, including Olympic athlete Jesse Moore, to move interstate.
A crowd of nearly 100 young gymnasts sat in anticipation as Senator Anne Ruston and Liberal candidate for Boothby Nicolle Flint announced a $20m investment into constructing a purpose-built gymnastics facility if the Coalition won the 2025 federal election.
Flying in especially for the announcement, former SA star gymnast, now president of Gymnastics Australia, Sam Offord said he 'can't wait' for an upgrade to the same facilities he'd used while training.
'I'm trying not to cry,' Mr Offord said, surrounded by gymnasts at the Marion Leisure and Fitness Centre.
'When I was training in the corner, there's a plaque on the wall and I thought 'this is pretty cool, the building was opened in 1982'.
'I've lived and breathed in this facility, and it's been amazing, but it's time for us to have a new home.'
The new 'world-class, Olympic level' facility would be just what 'the kids of South Australia deserve to grow and aspire,' said Gymnastics SA chief executive Nastashia Buck.
'When you have aspirations to go to the Olympics, we should in this state have a space and a place that lets you do that,' she said.
'So that when you go to the national competitions you don't feel like you have a less than ideal preparation, that we don't have less or substandard opportunities in this state.'
Annabelle Quiniones, 11, was recently named SA's best young gymnast by The Advertiser and said the new centre would 'make me feel good' and give her more space to train.
Annabelle's mum, Lovely, said the announcement was 'amazing'.
Ms Buck said last week that a new facility would cost somewhere in the realm of $60m-$70m, and 'worst case scenario' about $80m, though it is unclear where the additional funding would be found.
Ms Ruston said the facilities at the Marion Leisure and Fitness Centre were 'probably great 40 years ago', but were in dire need of an upgrade.
State sports minister Emily Bourke said last week she had met with Gymnastics SA to 'discuss measures needed to help meet growing demand on the sport's facilities'.
Ms Bourke said upgrades already issued include lighting at the Marion Leisure and Fitness centre, $500k for a new training facility for the Murraylands Gymnastics academy, $3.5m to Tea Tree Gully Gymsports and $3 million for Hub Gymnastics 'to get communities active'.
'Our government is building on a series of programs delivering millions of dollars' worth of projects across the state, enabling athletes to participate in the sport they love,' she said.
'We look forward to continuing to have these conversations with the gymnastics community.'
Originally published as 'Training for the Brisbane Olympics': Coalition's $20m SA gymnastics centre election pledge
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
28 minutes ago
- The Age
Westpac targets migrants from cricket nations in $40m sponsorship deal
Banking giant Westpac is attempting to win more business from newly arrived migrants from cricket-playing countries such as India, as it also tries to raise brand awareness nationally, under a new sponsorship deal with Cricket Australia. The bank's boss, Anthony Miller, a sports fan, on Thursday unveiled a deal in which Westpac will replace its biggest rival, the Commonwealth Bank, as lead sponsor of Australian cricket. The deal – foreshadowed late last year – means Westpac's logo will appear on the shirts of the men's and women's teams across the Test, one-day and Twenty20 format for all games played in Australia, including the Ashes series this summer. Westpac did not say how much it was spending on the sponsorship, but it is believed to be worth about $40 million over four years. Miller said the bank was drawn to cricket because it was an 'iconic community game right around the country', and added it was targeting customers from India, where cricket is hugely popular, and South-East Asia. Loading 'We get to participate with community right across Australia. There is no doubt that its appeal to India, and visitors and immigrants from India and South-East Asia is incredibly appealing for us. We want to win that business and target that particular market. But first and foremost it's anchored around the fact it's Australia's game, it's a community game and we're Australia's oldest bank,' he said. Miller has a keen interest in sport – two of his siblings have competed at the Olympics and his daughter Desiree is a winger for Australia's women's rugby team the Wallaroos. The Sydney-based bank, which already sponsors the NRL, also hopes the deal can help raise awareness of its brand in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, where AFL is the dominant football code.
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg says scarcity still key for Test series as tier system looms
New Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg says scarcity is still part of Test cricket's charm as the sport investigates splitting its best teams from the rest. Greenberg is the nation's representative on a working group set up by the International Cricket Council to explore the proposal for a two-tier system in Test cricket. That could see Australia play arch rivals England and India on a more regular basis, with little to no series against weaker nations. The tiered system would be one of the most radical changes to the long-form of the sport in its history and would likely include the international landscape split into two divisions of six teams. Greenberg will sit on the eight-person working group — established in an ICC meeting in Singapore earlier this month — which also includes England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould and the world governing body's chief executive Sanjog Gupta. There has been a resurgence in Test cricket's interest — particularly series between its three big teams — in the past two years and this summer's Ashes series in Australia has prompted unprecedented ticket sales. Perth — which did not host a match in the COVID-ravaged Ashes of 2020/21 — has joined every other Test this summer in selling out the opening day. Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney have all sold out the first three days of their Test matches. In an interview with The Nightly, Greenberg said one of the factors being considered was the risk of overloading fans with matches between the three powerhouse nations and removing some of the mystique around those key series. 'Completely. Finding the right balance of making sure Test cricket is played with meaning and purpose and that is creating scarcity and making sure you take advantage of that,' he said. 'I think the Ashes series is a very good example of that and Test cricket as well is a very good example of that. People know this is the one opportunity — over a four-year cycle — to see this competition and you get to see it up close and personal. 'That's why I think we are seeing the volume of ticket sales we have seen.' A blow-up between Australia's two biggest rivals, England and India, during their Test series in the UK earlier this week thrust long-form cricket back into the headlines again and ramped up anticipation for the Ashes. Greenberg said Cricket Australia didn't have a clear position on the two-tier proposal but was pleased it has a 'seat at the table'. He also said creating jeopardy and meaning in all forms of cricket was one of the key goals of the new working group. That includes white-ball series outside of World Cups. 'We have got to answer some of these questions about the tiers of Test cricket and making sure we create jeopardy in T20s and ODIs going forward,' Greenberg said. 'We have certainly got jeopardy with T20s now with the Olympics in 2028 and we have made sure that every game layers up with the outcomes and qualification for the Olympics. 'I think they are all open challenges on us, but they are good challenges to have as a sport in this country. With lots of different competition from all different codes in summer and winter, we have this ability to have a global significance and as the national sport of this country what we've got to do is continue to grow.' Cricket Australia this week released the key findings from an independent report into the potential for growth in the Big Bash League. That included advice for the league's eight franchises to be opened up to private investment by selling minority stakes as well as a push for a clearer window for the domestic T20 competition to be played, allowing for Australia's Test stars to take part.
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
World Athletics mandates new gene test for female category eligibility
World Athletics has announced that all athletes wishing to compete in the female category at world-ranking events must now pass a one-time genetic sex test—confirming they are biologically female—before stepping onto the global stage. The once-in-a-lifetime test for the SRY gene, which helps in determining biological sex, can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test. The testing protocol will be overseen by member federations and the new regulations come into effect on September 1, ahead of the September 13-21 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. 'It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling,' World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said in a statement. 'The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case. We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. 'It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology. We particularly want to thank our member federations for their support and commitment in the implementation of these new regulations.' Athletics has spent years debating eligibility criteria to compete in women's events, amid questions over biological advantages for transgender athletes and those with differences of sex development (DSD). World Athletics bans transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in women's events, while it requires female DSD athletes whose bodies produce high testosterone levels to lower them in order to be eligible. Earlier this year, a working group found that those rules were not tight enough , with a pre-clearance test for the SRY gene being one of several recommendations the group made for revised rules. The SRY gene reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex. The test was also approved by World Boxing in May when they introduced mandatory sex testing for all boxers. Earlier this month, the European Court upheld a 2023 ruling that double 800 metres Olympic champion Caster Semenya's appeal to a Swiss Federal Tribunal against regulations that barred her from competing had not been properly heard. Semenya was appealing against World Athletics regulations that female athletes with DSDs medically reduce their testosterone levels.
